Suspected Islamic militants killed 30 people and wounded hundreds in an attack on Pakistan’s military intelligence agency and police today. The terrorist attack in the eastern city of Lahore is one of the bloodiest to have targeted the security forces.
At least seven officers serving with the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the country’s main spy agency, were among the dead.
Gunmen fired indiscriminately and hurled grenades before a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into a security barrier, bringing down a two-storey police building and partially destroying the ISI regional headquarters next door. Police and witnesses said that firing continued for several minutes after the explosion.
Several other buildings in the high-security zone were damaged
Raja Riaz, a senior minister in the Punjab provincial government, said that at least 30 people were killed in the attack, which was carried out by several people. “It was a well-planned terrorist attack,” he said. Three suspects were arrested. TV channels showed footage of three bearded men being dragged by the police, but it is not clear whether they were among the attackers
At least 50 policemen were inside the building, which is in one of Lahore’s major commercial districts, at the time of the attack. “The entire building came down,” said a policeman who was outside the building at the time of the attack.
One witness, Riaz Bukhari, said that gunmen fired indiscriminately, killing a traffic warden outside the building. “They were firing with machine guns,” said Mr Bukhari, who was injured in the blast.
Another witness said that the attackers were wearing black jackets and came out of a white vehicle. “I saw several dead bodies, including of some school children, lying on the street,” Khalil Ahmed, a shopkeeper, said.
Security sources said that the ISI was the attackers' main target. More than 52 ISI officers have been killed in more than half a dozen attacks since mid 2007 following the military's raid on the Red Mosque in Islamabad. Last year, more than 30 people were killed in a suicide bomb attack on a bus carrying ISI personnel in Rawalpindi.
The high-security zone houses the Punjab provincial assembly and many important government offices, including the office of the Chief Minister. At least 30 buildings and dozens of vehicles were damaged. The area was littered with broken glass.
Police and doctors said that at least 295 people were wounded, many of them seriously. Dozens of others are trapped under the rubble. A state of emergency was declared.
No one has claimed responsibility, but the police suspect Islamic militants retaliating against the military operation against the Taleban in Swat Valley.
“The bombing seems to be a reprisal to the Swat offensive, “ Rehman Malik, the federal Interior Minister, said.
Lahore, the capital of Pakistan’s largest province, has been the target of several terrorist attacks in recent months. In March gunmen killed more than seven people in an attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team. Several of the cricketers were injured.
Security officials said that the same militant group could be involved in the latest attack in the city. “The pattern of the two attacks was the same,” Tasneem Noorani, a former federal interior secretary, said.
Senior security officials suspect that the attack may have been carried out by militants associated with the Tehrik-e-Taleban Pakistan, an outlawed group led by Baitullah Mehsud, the most wanted militant commander. The army this week expanded its offensive to South Waziristan, Mehsud's main base and the area which Pakistan's intelligence agencies believe is the centre of al-Qaeda activities.
Intelligence officials said that southern Punjab had become a base for militant Islamic groups associated with the Taleban.
Thousands of troops are fighting Taleban militants in Swat Valley. A senior military spokesman said that a large part of the valley had been cleared of rebels and street-to-street fighting was raging in Mingora, the main town of the area.
Source:The times
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